S.D. congressional delegation says prospects looking good for farm bill deal in January

Rep. Kristi Noem and others had hoped Congress would pass a long-delayed farm bill by the end of 2013. Like so many farm bill deadlines before it these past few years, Congress isn’t going to get the legislation done on time.

But that may be the very last deadline the farm bill misses in its circuitous two-year journey. When Congress returns in January, South Dakota’s whole delegation said the farm bill will be at the top of the agenda and have a very good chance of passage.

“Our prospects look great,” said Noem, a member of the conference committee that’s negotiating a compromise between the Republican-dominated House and the Democrat-controlled Senate. “The end of January would be the timeframe we could expect everything to be finalized.”

Sen. Tim Johnson criticized Congress, and particularly the House, for not passing a farm bill earlier in a Sioux Falls news conference Monday morning. But he, too, said he’s optimistic.

“The good news is the farm bill conference negotiators have been meeting for the past few months and are very close to reaching an agreement,” Johnson said. “It would have been better if a farm bill could have been finalized before the new year. But I’m hopeful that passing the farm bill will be one of the first things Congress does in January.”

Sen. John Thune voted against the Senate version of the farm bill, saying its reforms didn’t go far enough and in some ways moved backwards. He said he’s rooting for a farm bill and hopes to vote for the compromise version.

“Whether or not I end up being able to vote for it, this is something that should have been done a year ago,” Thune said. “We continue to limp along with these (temporary) extensions. We can’t afford to wait any longer. We need the certainty that comes with a multi-year reauthorization.”

One key provision sought by South Dakota ranchers looks to be in the final bill: livestock disaster aid, made retroactive so it covers deaths during South Dakota’s October 2013 blizzard. That blizzard happened after the last farm bill’s livestock disaster program had expired.

The biggest debate holding up the farm bill doesn’t deal with farms at all. It was a fight over food stamps, which are included with the farm bill. While Democrats have proposed some minor cuts to the food stamp program of around $4 billion over 10 years, Republicans asked for $40 billion in cuts. This sank the farm bill in the House earlier this year, when Democrats refused to vote for the bill unless the cuts were eased and conservative Republicans refused to vote for it unless the cuts were deepened.

Noem said the conference committee is near a deal of around $7 billion to $10 billion in total cuts.

Thune, who tried to increase the food stamp cuts in the Senate, predicted a compromise deal would bring Republicans on board.

“At some point they’ve got to find a sweet spot that maximizes the vote they get from Republicans and Democrats, both of whom aren’t going to feel this isn’t good enough” but will accept the deal anyway, Thune said.

Noem, too, said that unless final negotiations over dairy policy break down, the bill should pass in the House with bipartisan support.

“I don’t see too many areas that would be questionable for both Republicans and Democrats to agree to,” she said.

Johnson called for South Dakotans to “keep up the pressure to pass a long-term, comprehensive farm bill as quickly as possible.”